Hawaii

Hawaii island mayoral candidates tackle many issues at forum | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Published

1 year ago

September 24, 2024

Hawaii island mayoral candidates tackle many issues at forum | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Hawaii County’s two remaining mayoral candidates took potshots at each other in between setting out their own policy plans at a forum on Saturday.

The event, hosted by the Big Island Press Club at the Hilo Yacht Club, saw Mayor Mitch Roth and challenger Kimo Alameda respond to an array of questions covering subjects ranging from the Hawaii County budget to the Thirty Meter Telescope.

The questions below were posed by a panel of three, including the Hawaii Tribune- Herald’s John Burnett. Save for a “lightning round” of short, one-sentence answers, the candidates were given three minutes to answer each question.

Question: Will you commit to a similar forum with news media within nine months of taking office? What other steps will you take to improve transparency?

Answers: Roth quickly said “absolutely yes” to a future forum and added that his administration has been hiring more public information officers for different county agencies, including Civil Defense and Parks and Recreation. Meanwhile, he said the county’s websites are gradually being updated to include more pertinent information, while the county has contracts with the apps Everbridge and Kahea to improve communications with the public.

Alameda, meanwhile, specifically said he wants to make the county budget open to the public for review, saying that “there’s no hide-and-seek in government.” He said Kauai has a similar setup, and lamented that certain government expenses are left for the media to uncover, rather than being open and transparent.

This led to a prolonged back-and-forth throughout much of the forum. Roth took time during an answer to another question to respond to Alameda, saying the county’s budget is already available to the public online and remarking that it’s “kind of scary that it’s almost less than a month and a half (until the election) and you haven’t looked at the budget.”

Alameda, in turn, responded later, saying the county’s available fund balance is not visible online.

Q: The Big Island is losing residents, particularly Native Hawaiian residents. How will you take steps to reverse this trend?

A: Alameda said Hawaiians have increasingly felt unwelcome in their own home, experiencing discrimination and disparities in available services compared with residents who moved here from out of state.

“We still have a racial divide, and I believe I can bring people together, because I’ve lived on both sides,” Alameda said. “So if you want to bring Hawaiians back, you’ve got to bring them back to a place they remember — not this animosity between cultures, between districts.”

On the other hand, Roth said he believes the most important way to bring people back and keep them on the Big Island is the development of more housing. He said his administration has been hard at work developing an affordable housing development pipeline, which has more than 8,100 housing units in development.

Once again this statement led to a sniping match during future questions. Alameda later said he does not believe that 8,100 units are truly being developed, saying his family in the construction industry is only scraping by with insufficient work to sustain them.

Roth countered later by stating that those 8,100 projects do exist, with information about each one publicly available on county websites.

Q: Many Big Island small businesses have had to wait six months to a year for permits that allow them to open. What will you do to fix this?

A: “The permitting system isn’t perfect right now, I’ll be the first one to admit it,” Roth said. “But we are getting better at making sure that people can get permits.”

Roth said that some reports of the permitting system’s deficiencies have been overstated: Specifically, he said Alameda has previously claimed that there are 3,000 permit applications that haven’t even left the county’s intake process. That number, Roth said, is actually 280, and he added that the county has continued to improve its efficiency.

But Alameda said he did not believe several of Roth’s claims, explaining that he has permit applications that have been stuck for months. He said his family members in construction are unable to do their jobs because they are “held hostage” by the overbearing permit system.

Alameda proposed a provisional approval for all pending permit applications with minimal need for review, saying a simple checklist confirming basic information like the site address and tax map key should be sufficient.

“The county does not take liability for any of the permits; the architect does,” Alameda said. “So why are we slowing it up?”

Q: Do you believe in diversifying the island’s economy beyond tourism and, if so, how?

A: While Alameda said the county cannot rely on tourism alone, he acknowledged that the industry contributes about one-fifth of the island’s economy. Therefore, he said he would focus on regenerative tourism in an effort to bring in a less exploitative type of tourist.

“I think we could be the sports capital of the United States. This is where sports teams would like to come. We should be able to have the World Series here,” Alameda said. “We’re also the health capital. People should come here for health tourism. … This is the place for healing — just look outside, that’s healing right there,” he went on, pointing out the Yacht Club windows at the Honohononui Bay.

Roth agreed about the need for a different type of tourist and suggested a brand of tourism more respectful of Hawaiian culture.

“Japan has over 3 million hula dancers,” Roth said. “And those hula dancers don’t only study hula, they study Hawaiian culture, and when the Japanese tourists come here, they focus a lot on playing by the rules.”

The mayor also touted the county’s Destination Management Action Plan, which he said focuses on building tourism around the island’s communities, rather than vice versa.

Meanwhile, Roth said, the county could look to energy to wean itself off of tourism, noting the Big Island’s partnership with Namie, Japan, and Lancaster, Calif., to develop hydrogen infrastructure. He added that the county will soon issue a request for proposals from energy agencies for ways the county can generate its own energy rather than importing it.

Q: Was federal money earmarked for COVID-19 hazard pay? If so, where did it go? If not, why not? And what would Alameda have done differently?

A: Roth denied that there were any federal funds earmarked for hazard pay for county workers during the pandemic. He went on to say that county workers remained healthy throughout the pandemic — “We had nobody that died who was working at the county and got COVID on the job,” he said.

The mayor continued, saying that the county prioritized spending federal funds offering financial relief for other Big Island residents who were more severely affected by COVID-19, such as rent assistance programs and small-business grants.

Roth also took a wild potshot at Alameda, claiming that the Bay Clinic Health Center — of which Alameda was CEO at the start of the pandemic — had financial problems around 2020, which necessitated its eventual merger with the West Hawaii Community Health Center and Alameda’s departure from the executive position in 2022.

Alameda said Roth’s claim was “so far from the truth,” saying he initiated the merger and that Bay Clinic’s finances were healthier right before the merger than they had been when he began working there.

As for the hazard pay issue, Alameda said the county has a contractual agreement with the Hawaii Government Employees Association to provide hazard pay, which his administration would honor if elected.

“Mitch, you had the healthiest island because your county workers made it healthy,” Alameda said. “You made them essential, forced them to go to work; they were the ones marking the tape for 6 feet apart; they were the ones giving everybody masks; they were the ones making sure everything was sanitized. And then you come back and say, ‘You wasn’t at risk’? No way.”

Q: Does the pandemic continue to affect the island?

A: Both candidates agreed that the county continues to feel reverberations from COVID-19, both positive and negative. Alameda said keiki who spent years isolated during the pandemic are having lingering mental health effects but also that it forced people to improve their technological literacy and online connectivity.

Q: What influence does the mayor have on decisions regarding land leases for the Thirty Meter Telescope and Pohakuloa Training Area?

A: Roth said his office can advocate for certain courses of action but cannot make decisions regarding those issues. However, he said his office advocated for greater communication between TMT and the Native Hawaiian community, which has led to improved dialogue between both parties.

Regarding PTA, Roth said the county can and should ask for more than a $1 lease, but made an ominous addendum.

“We are closer to World War III right now than anytime in our past,” Roth said. “And when you talk to the military about this, their big fear is the Pacific.”

Alameda challenged Roth’s position, saying the mayor was pro-TMT in 2019 and that any improved bargaining position the county has regarding TMT or PTA is the result of pressure caused by opponents of those projects. He added that the mayor should sit on the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority himself, rather than delegating the role as is currently the case, with County Managing Director Doug Adams on the authority board.

Q: What can be done to reduce the island’s homelessness problem?

A: Alameda began by downplaying the state’s 2024 Homeless Point in Time Count, a favored statistic of Roth’s that shows a 28% decrease in homelessness from the previous year. That report, Alameda said, has a large margin of error that doesn’t reflect the reality of the situation.

Instead, he said the county should conduct outreach and pay attention to mental health issues among the homeless and almost homeless, adding that as a licensed psychologist, he is ideally suited to do so.

Roth said the county is, in fact, conducting homeless outreach, having awarded more than $10 million to various groups that are meeting with and providing treatment to homeless people. He touted recent and upcoming county homeless shelters including the overnight shelter at the Hilo Salvation Army, and added that, regardless of the usefulness of the Point in Time Count, it is “not debatable” that Hawaii County saw the state’s biggest decrease in homelessness in the past year.

Questions from the candidates

The final questions were posed from one candidate to the other. Roth asked Alameda what county spending decisions he would have made differently and how he would pay for them.

Alameda said the county could be bolder in seeking additional revenue, suggesting that short-term vacation rentals could be taxed at resort rates or that the county’s fees for rezoning applications be scaled based on the appraised value of the property in question.

Alameda asked Roth about the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant, challenging him about when the aging facility will be rehabilitated and whether there is a plan for if the plant fails before it is fixed.

Roth affirmed that county Civil Defense and the Department of Environmental Management have plans for if the treatment plant should fail.

He went on to say that the county has restructured its plan to refurbish the facility and has received three bid proposals in the past month — the lowest of those was about $337 million.

The mayor added the county is about to apply for a bond to help pay for the project, and touted the county’s high bond rating.

Lightning round

Midway through the forum was a “lightning round,” where candidates were given simpler questions to answer in just a few words. The most significant of those questions were as follows, with answers paraphrased for readability.

Q: What potential natural disaster worries you the most?

Roth: Now that Mauna Loa has already erupted, tsunami.

Alameda: Fire, because we’re not prepared for one.

Q: Do you believe there is corruption in the county government?

Roth: Not at the top, no.

Alameda: Yes (Alameda referred to an incident where a county housing official embezzled millions from the county, likely a reference to Alan Scott Rudo, who took nearly $2 million in bribes and kickbacks in a housing credit scheme that fraudulently awarded more than $10 million in housing credits between 2014 and 2021; Roth quipped that this did not happen under his administration).

Q: Should Hawaii County be split into two counties?

Roth: No.

Alameda: Maybe, if we can’t guarantee equitable treatment for all parts of the county.

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Everyone Says Oahu’s Overcrowded. We Drove 20 Minutes Past Haleiwa And Found Beautiful Empty Beaches

Published

8 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Everyone Says Oahu’s Overcrowded. We Drove 20 Minutes Past Haleiwa And Found Beautiful Empty Beaches

Most visitors think Oahu’s North Shore stops at Haleiwa because that is where traffic builds to pandemonium, where beach parking fills earlier than you can imagine, and where sitting in your car between the familiar lineup of surf breaks and food trucks largely defines the experience. Once people have crawled through and found a place to stand at Waimea or Sunset, the mental box gets checked, and the car points back toward Honolulu fast, as if everything worth seeing has already been seen. But it hasn’t.

Instead of turning around at Haleiwa, we continued west on Farrington Highway and watched the storefronts fall away in the rearview mirror. The line of rental cars thinned fast as the road narrowed and the mountains got closer to the pavement. On the ocean side, long stretches of sand opened up, and within a few miles, we were seeing more wind in the ironwood trees than cars on the road or people on the beach.

Most visitors leaving Haleiwa head east toward Sunset Beach and Pipeline, where traffic stacks up endlessly and parking lots overflow. We went the other way. Out toward Mokuleia, the commercial North Shore disappears fast, and what replaces it is space. There are no visitors circling for stalls and no steady lines at food trucks. You can pull over without searching for the one open spot in a packed lot, and entire sections of beach sit quietly without the usual cluster.

Dillingham Airfield and the working North Shore.

One of the first landmarks after Mokule’ia Beach (which we will write about soon) is what most people still call Dillingham Airfield, though its official name is Kawaihapai Airfield. It is owned by the U.S. Army and managed by the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation under a 50-year lease, and it has been operated as a military installation since the 1920s, with HDOT taking over management in 1962. HDOT leases 272 acres of the 650-acre Dillingham Military Reservation and operates the single 9,000-foot runway, with the civilian side used heavily for gliders and skydiving while the Army retains first priority for air/land operations and uses the field for helicopter night-vision training.

As we drove past, it did not feel like a visitor attraction at all, even though you can spot the roadside signs for glider rides and skydiving. A small single-engine plane rolled down the runway and lifted off against the Waianae Mountains, then a glider followed, towed upward before separating and moving almost silently above the coastline. It is one of those North Shore scenes that makes you slow down without thinking about it, because it looks like real working Oahu rather than the marketed version, with runway, mountains, and open water all in the same frame and very few people around to make it feel like a production.

Camps that have been here for generations.

Close to the airfield are two oceanfront camps that rarely enter any typical Oahu visitor’s plans. The first is Camp Mokuleia, which sits along the shoreline and is owned by the Episcopal Church. If you’re not on a retreat, you can rent a campsite or tentalo on the beach. A little farther west is YMCA Camp Erdman, which opened in 1926 and is approaching its 100th anniversary, still renting oceanfront cabins and yurts to the public.

The accommodations are straightforward, with sand steps away from the doors and long views of the horizon. This is not a resort strip, and you won’t find any valet stands or infinity pools. Families gather around grills, kids move freely between cabins and the beach, while the ocean feels part of the daily backdrop more than it is an Instagram photo opportunity.

Camp Mokuleia tentalos start at $100 a night. Camp Erdman yurts and cabins range from $250-$450 per night for up to 6 guests. For context, the average vacation rental in the Mokuleia area lists above $500 a night.

The shoreline here is not known for calm, protected swimming, and currents can be strong without lifeguard towers stationed every few hundred yards. The beach also has a lot of coral, which keeps swimmers more limited than some other beaches. And that fact alone keeps casual beach traffic lighter, and it helps explain why this stretch feels so different from busier Oahu North Shore stops. The camps and the character of the water belong to the same landscape, shaped more by geography than by commercial branding.

Parking at Kaena Point State Park – Oahu

Where the pavement ends.

Eventually, Farrington Highway reaches a gravel lot where the pavement stops and a locked gate marks the entrance to the Mokuleia section of Kaena Point State Park. There is no visitor center funneling people through an entrance plaza. Instead, there is open sky, steady trade winds, and a handful of parked cars facing a dirt road that continues on foot toward the westernmost tip of Oahu, where you can meet the road that comes from the other side. This is truly a part of Oahu that most visitors never see.

Hikers follow the old railroad route for roughly 2.7 miles to Kaena Point itself, where seabirds nest behind protective fencing and monk seals are sometimes seen along the shore. The trail is exposed, hot, and largely flat, with no services and little shade, which naturally limits casual foot traffic. Consider not trying it in the middle of the day. But, standing at the end of the paved road, with the Waianae Mountains behind you and nothing but raw coastline ahead, feels less like arriving at any Oahu attraction and more like standing at the literal end of the island.

What stood out most was how little competition there was for space. There were only a few cars in the lot when we arrived, and long portions of the beach were untouched compared with the chaotic churn nearby at Haleiwa. It was a bit windy, the mountains anchored one side of the horizon, and the coastline extended westward without any indication that you were sharing it with scattered other people.

If you have been to the North Shore more than once and believe you have already seen it, have you ever kept driving past Haleiwa until the pavement runs out? It’s worth the drive.

Photo Credits: © Beat of Hawaii at Kaena Point State Park, Oahu.

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Hawaii County Weather Forecast for March 02, 2026 | Big Island Now

Published

20 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Hawaii County Weather Forecast for March 02, 2026 | Big Island Now

Photo Credit: James Grenz

Hilo

Tonight: Cloudy. Scattered showers in the evening, then isolated showers after midnight. Lows 59 to 66 near the shore to 48 to 54 at 4000 feet. Southeast winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Monday: Cloudy with isolated showers. Highs 75 to 80 near the shore to around 65 at 4000 feet. East winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday Night: Cloudy with scattered showers. Lows 59 to 65 near the shore to 48 to 54 at 4000 feet. East winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Kona

Tonight: Cloudy. Isolated showers in the evening. Lows around 69 near the shore to 45 to 52 near 5000 feet. Light winds. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday: Cloudy. Highs 81 to 86 near the shore to around 67 near 5000 feet. Light winds becoming west up to 10 mph in the afternoon.

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Monday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows around 69 near the shore to 44 to 51 near 5000 feet. Northwest winds around 10 mph in the evening becoming light.

Waimea

Tonight: Cloudy and breezy. Isolated showers in the evening. Lows 59 to 68 near the shore to 53 to 59 near 3000 feet. East winds up to 10 mph increasing to up to 20 mph after midnight. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday: Cloudy and breezy. Isolated showers in the morning. Highs 72 to 78 near the shore to 67 to 75 near 3000 feet. East winds up to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy. Breezy. Isolated showers in the evening. Lows 59 to 67 near the shore to 52 to 58 near 3000 feet. East winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Kohala

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Monday: Cloudy and breezy. Isolated showers in the morning. Highs 72 to 78 near the shore to 67 to 75 near 3000 feet. East winds up to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy. Breezy. Isolated showers in the evening. Lows 59 to 67 near the shore to 52 to 58 near 3000 feet. East winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

South Big Island

Tonight: Cloudy. Isolated showers in the evening. Lows around 71 near the shore to around 51 near 5000 feet. Northeast winds up to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday: Cloudy and breezy. Highs around 83 near the shore to around 64 near 5000 feet. East winds up to 20 mph.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy. Breezy. Lows around 70 near the shore to around 50 near 5000 feet. East winds 10 to 20 mph.

Puna

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Monday: Cloudy with isolated showers. Highs 75 to 80 near the shore to around 65 at 4000 feet. East winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Monday Night: Cloudy with scattered showers. Lows 59 to 65 near the shore to 48 to 54 at 4000 feet. East winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Waikoloa

Tonight: Cloudy. Lows around 70 near the shore to 48 to 54 above 4000 feet. Light winds.

Monday: Cloudy. Highs around 83 near the shore to 65 to 71 above 4000 feet. Light winds becoming northwest up to 15 mph in the afternoon.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows around 70 near the shore to 47 to 54 above 4000 feet. North winds 10 to 15 mph shifting to the east after midnight.

Synopsis

The cold front has dissipated into a trough and remains northwest of the Hawaiian Islands this evening. High pressure will build in from the north and allow the trade winds to strengthen from Monday through Wednesday. Brief passing showers will favor windward and mountain areas in the overnight to early morning hours through Wednesday and then over southeastern slopes and island interior sections from Thursday onward. Winds will weaken and veer slightly from a more east-southeast direction from Thursday on into the weekend. Shower activity will remain limited during this time period.

Short term update

The large band of high level cirrus clouds and mid level alto stratus clouds currently over the islands will continue to slowly diminish through Monday. The cold front approaching the islands has stalled and diminished into a trough just northwest of the island of Kauai.
Trade winds blow into the region and strengthen into the moderate to locally breezy range from Monday through Wednesday. A slight decrease in wind speeds and a shift from a more east- southeast direction remains in the forecast from Thursday onward as another cold front approaches the islands from the northwest, weakening and lifting the ridge north of the state. Local scale sea breeze winds will develop along terrain sheltered slopes of each island as the large scale winds weaken. Limited shower activity will prevail into next weekend with only brief showers possible.
The afternoon forecast looks good. No evening updates.

Previous discussion

Issued at 302 PM HST Sun Mar 1 2026.
Expectations for this afternoon remain on track. The boundary upstream of Kauai has made little to no forward progress today, sea breezes have struggled to establish owing to abundant high clouds, and showers southwest of Kauai and Oahu have essentially remained in place while stratiform elements peel off to the northeast. In addition, regenerating showers over Windward Oahu have dissipated in response to backing low-level flow. All told, an uneventful, cloudy, and mostly dry day across the state. Going forward, building heights over the N Central Pacific will maintain strengthening, but progressive high pressure at the surface. This in turn ensures the return of trades tonight which then become breezy during mid-week. Winds diminish slightly by late week as trades veer to ESE in advance of another round of upstream height falls. Typical trade wind weather anticipated throughout this time with showers focused windward and mauka. High clouds gradually clear from west to east Monday into Tuesday before exiting the area altogether by Wednesday.

Aviation

A weakening stationary boundary will allow for abundant high clouds and relatively light land/sea breezes to prevail across most TAF sites. This front will also allow for disorganized showers across Kauai and Oahu tonight, however confidence was on the lower end based on weather model guidance, so made use of VCSH and PROB30 where rain chances were felt to be the highest. MVFR conditions may prevail under shower activity, otherwise VFR is expected across most sites for the period.
AIRMET Tango remains in effect across the islands due to upper- level turbulence from FL200-400 due to this front, with conditions expected to improve into tomorrow as this system continues to weaken. Patchy mountain obscuration may occur due to the presence of this front, however observations and webcams suggest that the threat is not widespread enough to warrant an AIRMET at this time. Light icing is also possible in cloud layer 120-180.

Marine

Issued at 302 PM HST Sun Mar 1 2026.
A dissipated front will linger into Monday just northwest of the area. Fresh to locally strong easterly trades will build in by Tuesday as surface ridge strengthens to the north. Winds will maintain strength but veer east southeast towards the end of the week as another system approaches from the west.
Surf along north and west-facing shores will be above seasonal average as a northwest swell (310 degrees) is expected to impact through Monday. Surf should remain small though the week with a small northwest bump expected next weekend.
Surf along exposed east-facing shores will be a bit elevated due to a short-to medium-period northeast (40 degrees) swell, then decline Tuesday. However, period and choppy conditions are expected to return by Tuesday as fresh trade winds redevelop and expand upstream of the state.
Surf along south-facing shores will remain near the seasonal average into March.

HFO Watches/Warnings/Advisories

None.

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Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov

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YAS Fest Returns To Kalākaua Park, March 14th

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

(BIVN) – YAS Fest, aka the Youth Art Series Festival, is returning to Kalākaua Park in Downtown Hilo.

The East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center is hosting the event on Saturday, March 14th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. “Keiki and their families will be treated to an exciting array of performances, craft and information booths, and art activities,” a press release promoted.

From event organizers:

YAS Fest brings together local organizations dedicated to providing arts opportunities to keiki and teens from around Hawaiʻi Island. By spotlighting their activities, YAS Fest celebrates the importance of arts education for everyone.
Booths include the Hilo High School Art Club, Hawaiʻi Handweavers’ Hui, Friends of the Palace Theatre, and over a dozen more.
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Headlining the performers is HAAStile (a teen rock band from Hawaiʻi Academy of Arts and Sciences, directed by Trever Veilleux). Audiences will also enjoy performances by Big Wave Dance Academy, Aloha Teen Theatre, N2 Dance, Hawaii’s Volcano Circus, Prince Dance Institute, and Kona Dance and Performing Arts.
YAS Fest is made possible by support from County Council District 2 and Coldwell Banker Island Properties. EHCC also thanks KTA Super Stores, Kelsey Ito, and Lō‘ihi Studios for their contributions.
Says YAS Fest organizer Kellie Miyazu, who is EHCC’s Youth Education Director, “Last year we had around 300 visitors to the first YAS Fest. There was a lot of nice feedback from visitors, and also from the organizations who were able to network with each other and the community. We’re expecting an even more successful festival this year.”
Visitors are also encouraged to stop by the EHCC patio across the street to learn more about EHCC’s vision for the year and how community support helps keep EHCC’s unique gallery and keiki programs accessible to all.
For more information, visit EHCC online at ehcc.org, call 961-5711, or visit EHCC at 141 Kalakaua Street. Current gallery and office hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday noon to 6 p.m.

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